Beyond the Horizon
by Firehead Dragon
Summary: Susanna Swann's home was destroyed by the East India Trading Company when she was just thirteen. She stowed away on a ship bound for the end of the world and was adopted by Governor Swann. When her sister is kidnapped by pirates, she'll do anything to save her - even work with a pirate who infuriates and fascinates her: Captain Jack Sparrow. Follows the plot of POTC: COTBP
1. Chapter 1

The girl hid, hardly daring to breathe, behind a stack of barrels on the Dauntless. She shivered, wrapping the tattered shawl closer around her shoulders, drawing shaky breaths through cold and fear. She knew she would never see her home again, not after her family had been murdered by the East India Trading Company and her younger brother stolen, never to be seen again. There was nothing left for her there; her country, her home, had been ravaged by the murderous English, invading the lush green valleys and killing their people. And yet those with Celtic blood running in their veins would never give in, never let the English kill their bloodlines and culture. No, the girl knew that others would fight, others would die for this cause, but not her. She had had enough of the fighting, of the fear. She would keep the bloodline strong wherever this ship was bound, she would keep her people alive from across the world.

Her only hope was that this ship would take her far, far away, perhaps to a place of sun and heat where she could find employment...somehow. She had no idea what she would do, or how she would survive, but she knew she had to go. She had no family, no hope. And if the English were invading Wales, she would not be there to see her people die. They had already taken the nearby country of Scotland, and the people had fought valiantly - and for nothing, to be beaten into submission by force and terror. The girl would not stay to watch that happen to her own country.

She swallowed, her pale hand rubbing her empty stomach. She hadn't eaten since that rotten apple she had managed to steal before the voyage set off from Plymouth, and before then she had only managed to eat scraps thrown to the birds on the long journey from Wales to England, hitching lifts with farmers in exchange for work. She had thinned dramatically in the few months since her family had been murdered and their farm burned. It was likely she wouldn't eat again for some time, if she didn't manage to sneak to the ship's galley to steal some bread, or better yet, some fruit. They would rot soon anyway, and it would be a shame to see such a delicacy go to waste.

She had nothing to do but sit and wait, she thought. The voyage would be long and hard, and if she were cold now, it would only get worse. Better conserve her energy, and hope she survived to the end of the journey. Her eyelids drooped as she leaned her head on a coil of rope, her pitiful shawl barely covering her torso. Her legs curled beneath her, gooseflesh covering the exposed skin under her thin dress. As she fell asleep, her shivering gradually slowed as her lips began to take on a tinge of blue.

The girl awoke to shouts. She opened her eyes blearily, starting to stretch but soon realising that the slightest of movements dislodged the shawl, and that just made her shivering more forceful. "Well, well, well! It seems we have a stowaway." Someone was saying, and the girl stared. A man in a powdered wig speaking in an English accent was leaning behind the barrels and had obviously seen her. The girl shrank back, drawing the shawl around her shoulders and hissing like a cat. English were bad, she knew. She bared her teeth, trying to ignore the shivers that wracked her body. She had never felt so cold, never in her whole pitiful life. The man in the wig reached a hand towards her, pulling her to her feet and out from behind the barrels. "You do know the punishment for stowing away?" The man was angry, spots of red appearing on his cheeks. The girl didn't reply, barely understanding the words she had only just learned.

The man shook her, trying to get an answer, but the girl kept an obstinate silence, her ghostlike hands shaking as he pulled her out into the biting wind on deck. He dragged her by her arm to a man with a dark wig under his large tricorne hat who was speaking with another man who wore a huge curly wig like those the girl had seen in London. "Lieutenant," the man said in clipped tones. "I found this in the hold, behind some barrels. A stowaway." The man in the hat looked down at the girl, taking in her sunken face and ragged, torn clothing, the dull auburn hair and the wide blue eyes that had long-since lost their sparkle. The other man in the large wig widened his eyes as he stared at the girl.

"By God, man, she's freezing - look, her lips are blue!" He stared in outrage at the girl's captor, tugging off his coat and draping it around the girl's shoulders. She shot a look of confusion at him, wondering why he would take pity on a girl such as she. A stowaway, no less. She had long since resigned herself to the fact that she would always be hated by people, as all waifs from the gutters were. And yet this man was kind, he gave her a coat to warm herself and offered kind words. She wondered why; there was always some underlying reason behind kindness - perhaps he wished to keep her alive only to torment her more, or maybe to humiliate her by gaining her trust. Her jaw squared - well, if that was his plan, then she would not fall into the trap that trust brought. The Lieutenant looked the girl up and down, watching the way she shook under the too-large coat and the way her legs shook trying to hold her up. "What is your name, girl?" He asked in a voice that couldn't quite be described as cold, but wasn't exactly warm either. The girl's voice trembled as she mumbled something indistinct. "Speak louder, child." He commanded.

She shook under his gaze, not wishing to tell him anything. But her lips betrayed her, maybe because she was hoping for something to eat, anything, and cooperation would get her it. "Siwan," she whispered, just loud enough for the man to hear. She wished there were something near her for her to lean on, because her knees were shaking and she didn't wish to appear weak before these men. Especially if they were English.

Both men stared at her curiously, never having heard such a name before. "She-wan?" The lieutenant asked, raising an eyebrow. The girl nodded, noticing that both men had trouble pronouncing it with slight amusement.

"Let us call you Susanna - a new name for a new life." Announced the man in the curly wig with a wide smile. The girl forced a smile - could she refuse? What did he mean, a new life? She shouldn't be feeling such...relief at losing her old name, a freedom that she had never had before.

The man with the wig looked over his shoulder and called out, "Elizabeth!" He turned back to the girl. "My daughter, Elizabeth, can look after you," he said over the protests of the lieutenant. The girl stared as a girl a few years younger than she ran up to her father. Elizabeth had tightly curled brown ringlets and inquisitive dark eyes, and at first glance the girl hated her - she'd probably never seen a day without food, never been _really_ hungry or really thirsty, so thirsty that her tongue swelled to twice its size. No, this Elizabeth was a rich girl, a girl of the kind who would look down at the waifs from the gutter and look away with her nose turned away. She surveyed Elizabeth with a frown.

"Who is this, father?" She asked. The man in the wig smiled, patting the girl's shoulder reassuringly.

"This, dear Elizabeth, is to be your new friend. I want you to look after her on the voyage - make sure she is cared for and warm." The girl frowned - why was this man being so kind to her? Kindness came with a price, and she didn't know if she was ready to pay it. "Her name is Susanna, she was found as a stowaway this morning."

The lieutenant stared at Elizabeth's father. "Governor, I really must protest - this girl is not highborn, nor is she decent to be near your daughter. I strongly recommend that we put her in the brig until we reach Port Royal and decide where the girl goes then." He spoke haughtily, with his nose pointed to the air, in a manner that the girl decided that she wasn't fond of at all. She swallowed, drawing the coat closer around her as the wind picked up. The sea was not gentle that day, nor were the elements forgiving. She would have given anything to be back in the farmhouse in Wales, sat before the fire with her mother singing while making bread and the shouts and whistles of her father and brother carrying across from the hills.

The governor turned around to face the lieutenant with cold eyes. "Lieutenant Norrington, I do not believe that you are in a position to give me orders. I have seen how many children are left to die in the gutters because of the brutality of man, and by God, if you just look at the girl, Norrington, you will see that she has seen too much for her years. My own daughter's mother died many years ago and Elizabeth has had to grow up without a mother, and that has taken its toll." He took a deep breath. "There are thousands of other motherless children out there, and now here is one who needs help. It is my duty, I feel, as a father and as a man of authority, to give this child a home where she can feel safe." His eyes hardened as they rested upon the stripes of gold on the lieutenant's uniform. "Elizabeth, take Susanna to your cabin and call for somebody to set up a cot."

The dark haired girl stared at her father, anxious to see if she would have a new playmate, having left all her old friends in London. The girl saw that she was in kind hands at that moment, hands that she distrusted; but she was damned if she was going to die without food in her stomach. She took a deep breath. "Food," she mumbled. "Please...may I have something to eat." Her voice was croaking, and her head was swimming and throbbing, but her words were clear. "Sir." She added as an afterthought.

The governor's face split into a wide smile. "Of course." He turned to the girl's captor, who released her arm. "Gillette, please fetch the girl something to eat. And not too much," he called after the wigged man. "Too much will make you feel ill, especially with the ship rocking as it is today." He put his handkerchief in front of his mouth, his face paling. The girl couldn't help but feel a rush of gratitude as Elizabeth took her hand and led her to her cabin. When she was there, she breathed a sigh of relief - she didn't allow herself to let her guard down yet, but for now, she was safe and warm and content.

It would be many years before Susanna learned to trust Governor Weatherby Swann and his kindness, but over time she began to laugh more, smile more, and loosen her tight fear of the English. These Englishmen wouldn't hurt her, and she was far from the viciousness of Britain. She trusted Elizabeth and Will Turner almost immediately, them being children and having the nature of children, and soon began to fill in the gaps that her family had left empty in her heart.


	2. Chapter 2

I sighed, fanning my face as the string quartet droned on in the background. This damned corset was choking the life out of me, barely letting me take a breath. Commodore Norrington was speaking with my younger sister Elizabeth at the battlements, and when I looked back around, Elizabeth was on her way over to me. Her smile was genuine as she sat beside me.

"I see you've already congratulated the Commodore on his promotion," I said, watching him look over to us then glance away. "What's got into him? He seems..." I frowned. "agitated. Like he's got to do something but doesn't wish to." Elizabeth fanned herself, looking at me.

She smiled. "Well, why don't you go and ask him yourself." She said with a glimmer in her eyes. I narrowed mine, seeing that strange light in her brown eyes - what did she know? I pursed my lips, standing and walking over to Commodore Norrington who smiled down at me from under the shade of that ridiculous hat.

"Good day, Susanna," he said as I stared out to sea at the docks. The HMS Interceptor was just visible in the distance. I smiled, trying to catch a breath. Dear lord, if I could rip this corset off at this moment I would have - it might have been worth it just to see the Commodore's look. "I expect Elizabeth delivered my message?"

I glanced over to my sister, who was watching us, hiding a grin behind her fan. "Well..." I gasped. "I suppose you could put it that way." I fanned myself, watching the Commodore turn away and stare out to sea.

"You look lovely today, Susanna," he said, turning back to me. I managed a smile, throbbing beginning between my eyes - damn this corset to the depths of hell and further. "I...apologise if I may seem...forward, but I - I must speak my mind." Norrington stared into my eyes for a moment, before glancing away. I frowned, fanning harder. He did seem disturbed, as though some great monster were plaguing his nightmares and he was forced to tell somebody about his deepest, darkest fears.

I leaned on the battlements. "This promotion...it throws into sharp relief that which I have not yet achieved," he said as I turned back for another glance at Elizabeth. She was talking to one of the other men and had given up on watching the Commodore and I. "- A marriage...to a fine woman."  
My eyes widened. Oh, goodness - whatever could be on his mind so to make him take so long to spit it out? He turned back to me, his eyes intense. "You, Susanna...you have become a fine woman." He looked back out to sea. "What I mean to say is...well, I -"

For the past few minutes my breathing had been almost totally restricted - surely the maids had done the corset up too tight? I reached forward to lean on the battlements only to find that my legs buckled beneath me and I fell. A moment later, I hit the water just before hearing the Commodore shout "SUSANNA!" from up at the battlements.

The next thing I knew was opening my eyes to see clouds forming over the sun and coughing, water coming up from my insides and the freezing cold wind that had suddenly picked up. I coughed harder, leaning to one side as a man's voice spoke.  
"I'd never have thought of that," he said. I glanced upwards to see three men, one of whom was holding my corset - blood rushed to my cheeks when I realised that I was in my petticoats before three men.

The middle man looked to the first man who had spoken. "Clearly, you've never been to Singapore." He said, beads of water dripping from his long hair onto me. I stared up at him, taking in his strange appearance. He looked out of place between the other two men, who were dressed in the Royal Navy uniforms. This man was different, wearing a sopping wet shirt and some kind of headscarf over his forehead, beads hanging from his hair. He looked...well, he looked like some kind of pirate.

I tried to sit up, the two medallions hanging from my neck falling into view. Air had never felt so good, despite the fact that I was soaking wet, in my petticoats with three men I had never seen before in my life. A small part of me wondered what on earth was in Singapore that was so special, but the rest of me was preoccupied by the pirate man picking up the medallions, his dark eyes meeting mine.

"Where did you get these?" He asked as the noise of many feet sounded along the pier. I glared, snatching them back from the pirate man. Norrington pointed a sword at my rescuer, his lip curling. Behind him, I saw the Governor and Elizabeth appear. I staggered to my feet, leaning on one of the poles that held the pier in place. The Governor reached me, pushing through the men to wrap me in his coat. I gasped for air, coughing again as bayonets were pointed at the pirate man.  
Elizabeth put an arm around me. "Susanna, are you all right?" She asked, her eyes wide. "I - I told you to go and speak with him, it's my fault -"

I turned to her with a weak smile. "Elizabeth, it's fine, I'm -" I turned to Norrington, who still had his sword pointed at the man. "Commodore, please lower your sword." He turned to me, not moving. I sighed loudly. "Do you really intend to kill my rescuer? You have him to thank that I am alive."

The pirate raised an eyebrow as he stared at Elizabeth and I. When the bayonets were lowered, he flashed us a sarcastic smile. Elizabeth held my arm tightly, her eyes narrowing. "I believe thanks are in order," Norrington offered his hand, which the pirate took.

As soon as the pirate's hand was in Norrington's, the Commodore pulled up his sleeve to reveal a scar in the shape of a P. I drew in breath sharply. "So I was right," I murmured, drawing Elizabeth's and the pirate's attention.

"Had a brush with the East India Trading Company, did we, pirate?" Asked the Commodore, to which the pirate grimaced, as though remembering the pain of the brand. Norrington slid his sleeve further up the pirate's arm, his eyes gleaming with recognition. "Keep your guns on him," ordered Norrington, reaching for some shackles. They were handed to him as he smiled a cold smile. "Jack Sparrow," he said.

The pirate grimaced again, pulling his arm from Norrington's grip. "Captain Jack Sparrow," he said. Elizabeth, beside me, raised an eyebrow.

"Do you remember the stories?" She whispered to me, to which I nodded. This was the man who - if the rumours were true - had sacked Nassau Port without even firing a shot; he had once been the terror of the Caribbean sea - this was that man? This...bedraggled scarecrow of a man?  
Norrington smiled. "I don't see your ship," he said, reaching behind him for the manacles. Captain Jack Sparrow grinned.

"I'm in the market...as it were." He glanced over to Elizabeth and I. Elizabeth looked away while I pulled her away from him, narrowing my eyes. I swallowed as the two Royal Navy men handed over the pirate's things - a pistol, a compass and - was that a sword?

Norrington snorted to himself as he looked over the Captain's things. "You are, without doubt, the worst pirate I've ever heard of."

Jack Sparrow's eyes glinted. "Ah, but you have heard of me." He grinned, his expression changing as the Commodore grabbed him, pulling the Captain across the pier to where the shackles were. Elizabeth and I stared at each other with matching expressions of disbelief.

I broke away from the Governor and Elizabeth, following Norrington and Captain Sparrow. "Commodore, I must protest -" I reached for his arm, turning to face him. "Pirate or not, this man saved my life," I glanced behind me at Captain Sparrow who was being shackled by one of the lieutenants. I sighed, folding my arms over my chest. "Nobody else would have been able to rescue me - and now you wish to send him to the gallows?"

Norrington's jaw clenched. "One good deed is not enough to redeem a man from a lifetime of wickedness, Susanna!" I resisted the urge to ask why exactly piracy was so wicked, and pursed my lips. "You will come to learn that, soon enough."

"But it seems to be enough to condemn him," piped up Captain Sparrow from behind me. I glanced back, following the line of his arm to the shackles on his wrists. Norrington smiled that cold smile once again, making me shiver. Was this the man who I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with?

"Indeed." Said Commodore Norrington. I squared my jaw, ready to argue. The noise of the manacles being locked had stopped, and suddenly they had been swung over my head and were being held tight against my neck. I sucked in a breath, watching Elizabeth wrench herself from the guards holding her back only to be restrained by the Governor. I felt hot breath on the back of my neck and resisted the urge to elbow Captain Sparrow in the gut.

The shackles were cold on my neck. "Commodore Norrington, my effects please." Sparrow said from behind me, his voice loud in my ear. I swallowed - I had the option of moving backwards towards Sparrow to get away from the shackles that were pressing into my neck, or letting them cut off my windpipe even more if I moved away. I gasped, meeting the Governor's panicked eyes with my own. "And the hat."

My hands trembled as Norrington prepared to hand the pirate's things to him. In the meantime, Sparrow tightened the shackles, speaking close to my ear. "Susanna...it is Susanna, isn't it?" His breath whispering over my neck. Tears formed in the corners of my eyes but I blinked them away.

I gritted my teeth. "It's Miss Swann to you, pirate." I said venomously. I could almost see the slimy smile Sparrow was making behind me.

"Ah, you didn't seem to care if I was a pirate earlier," he hissed, to which I was preparing to elbow him in the stomach for. I set my jaw, watching as Norrington's eyes met mine before he handed Sparrow the pistol and hat. "Susanna, if you'd be so kind." I ignored the blatant disrespect for my wish to be called Miss Swann. Norrington handed me the hat and before I knew it, a pistol was being held to my head and I'd been spun around to face the pirate. His eyes raked over my face as I stared at the pistol. "Come come, we don't have all day," he said with the glimmer of a smirk forming on his despicable face. I pressed my lips together, reaching up to put on his hat and ignoring his gaze that swept downward, towards the medallions or God knew what. My lip curled as I reached around him to buckle up the effects.

Sparrow pressed himself up against me, his body just as soaking as mine, the heat from his chest radiating through his shirt and causing a small whimper to escape my lips. "I still want an answer to my question." He whispered in my ear as I buckled up the sword belt, pulling it as tight as I could manage - he deserved to face the gallows. I scowled.

"Which question exactly?" I asked, knowing full well what. A dark eyebrow twitched up as once again, he glanced downwards to the necklaces. I swallowed, glaring. "You are a despicable human being," I hissed, which earned a slimy grin.

"Sticks and stones, love - you saved my life, I saved yours...we'd be equal if you'd have given me an answer." I bit the inside of my cheek to save myself from standing on his toe hard.

I glared up at him - he was ever-so-slightly taller than me which unnerved me a little. "I don't owe you anything." I said, raising my chin. A one-sided smile, before he spun me around to have the chains back on my neck.

"You keep tellin' yourself that, lassie," he hissed in my ear as he started to move backwards. My heart plunged - where was he going? He wasn't kidnapping me, was he? I glanced at Norrington, who had started to move forward, his hand on his sword. "Gentlemen -" Sparrow announced. "Susanna," he said to me, "you will always remember this day as the day that you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow." The chains were whipped back from my neck, spinning me around one last time. "Many thanks for your services, girl." He grinned, before pushing me backwards so I fell at Norrington's feet. I let out a scream as soldiers surrounded me, muskets ripping at my petticoat sleeves as they raced after Sparrow.


	3. Chapter 3

I sighed, fanning my face as the string quartet droned on in the background. This damned corset was choking the life out of me, barely letting me take a breath. Commodore Norrington was speaking with my younger sister Elizabeth at the battlements, and when I looked back around, Elizabeth was on her way over to me. Her smile was genuine as she sat beside me.

"I see you've already congratulated the Commodore on his promotion," I said, watching him look over to us then glance away. "What's got into him? He seems..." I frowned. "agitated. Like he's got to do something but doesn't wish to." Elizabeth fanned herself, looking at me.

She smiled. "Well, why don't you go and ask him yourself." She said with a glimmer in her eyes. I narrowed mine, seeing that strange light in her brown eyes - what did she know? I pursed my lips, standing and walking over to Commodore Norrington who smiled down at me from under the shade of that ridiculous hat.

"Good day, Susanna," he said as I stared out to sea at the docks. The HMS Interceptor was just visible in the distance. I smiled, trying to catch a breath. Dear lord, if I could rip this corset off at this moment I would have - it might have been worth it just to see the Commodore's look. "I expect Elizabeth delivered my message?"

I glanced over to my sister, who was watching us, hiding a grin behind her fan. "Well..." I gasped. "I suppose you could put it that way." I fanned myself, watching the Commodore turn away and stare out to sea.

"You look lovely today, Susanna," he said, turning back to me. I managed a smile, throbbing beginning between my eyes - damn this corset to the depths of hell and further. "I...apologise if I may seem...forward, but I - I must speak my mind." Norrington stared into my eyes for a moment, before glancing away. I frowned, fanning harder. He did seem disturbed, as though some great monster were plaguing his nightmares and he was forced to tell somebody about his deepest, darkest fears.

I leaned on the battlements. "This promotion...it throws into sharp relief that which I have not yet achieved," he said as I turned back for another glance at Elizabeth. She was talking to one of the other men and had given up on watching the Commodore and I. "- A marriage...to a fine woman."  
My eyes widened. Oh, goodness - whatever could be on his mind so to make him take so long to spit it out? He turned back to me, his eyes intense. "You, Susanna...you have become a fine woman." He looked back out to sea. "What I mean to say is...well, I -"

For the past few minutes my breathing had been almost totally restricted - surely the maids had done the corset up too tight? I reached forward to lean on the battlements only to find that my legs buckled beneath me and I fell. A moment later, I hit the water just before hearing the Commodore shout "SUSANNA!" from up at the battlements.

The next thing I knew was opening my eyes to see clouds forming over the sun and coughing, water coming up from my insides and the freezing cold wind that had suddenly picked up. I coughed harder, leaning to one side as a man's voice spoke.  
"I'd never have thought of that," he said. I glanced upwards to see three men, one of whom was holding my corset - blood rushed to my cheeks when I realised that I was in my petticoats before three men.

The middle man looked to the first man who had spoken. "Clearly, you've never been to Singapore." He said, beads of water dripping from his long hair onto me. I stared up at him, taking in his strange appearance. He looked out of place between the other two men, who were dressed in the Royal Navy uniforms. This man was different, wearing a sopping wet shirt and some kind of headscarf over his forehead, beads hanging from his hair. He looked...well, he looked like some kind of pirate.

I tried to sit up, the two medallions hanging from my neck falling into view. Air had never felt so good, despite the fact that I was soaking wet, in my petticoats with three men I had never seen before in my life. A small part of me wondered what on earth was in Singapore that was so special, but the rest of me was preoccupied by the pirate man picking up the medallions, his dark eyes meeting mine.

"Where did you get these?" He asked as the noise of many feet sounded along the pier. I glared, snatching them back from the pirate man. Norrington pointed a sword at my rescuer, his lip curling. Behind him, I saw the Governor and Elizabeth appear. I staggered to my feet, leaning on one of the poles that held the pier in place. The Governor reached me, pushing through the men to wrap me in his coat. I gasped for air, coughing again as bayonets were pointed at the pirate man.  
Elizabeth put an arm around me. "Susanna, are you all right?" She asked, her eyes wide. "I - I told you to go and speak with him, it's my fault -"

I turned to her with a weak smile. "Elizabeth, it's fine, I'm -" I turned to Norrington, who still had his sword pointed at the man. "Commodore, please lower your sword." He turned to me, not moving. I sighed loudly. "Do you really intend to kill my rescuer? You have him to thank that I am alive."

The pirate raised an eyebrow as he stared at Elizabeth and I. When the bayonets were lowered, he flashed us a sarcastic smile. Elizabeth held my arm tightly, her eyes narrowing. "I believe thanks are in order," Norrington offered his hand, which the pirate took.

As soon as the pirate's hand was in Norrington's, the Commodore pulled up his sleeve to reveal a scar in the shape of a P. I drew in breath sharply. "So I was right," I murmured, drawing Elizabeth's and the pirate's attention.

"Had a brush with the East India Trading Company, did we, pirate?" Asked the Commodore, to which the pirate grimaced, as though remembering the pain of the brand. Norrington slid his sleeve further up the pirate's arm, his eyes gleaming with recognition. "Keep your guns on him," ordered Norrington, reaching for some shackles. They were handed to him as he smiled a cold smile. "Jack Sparrow," he said.

The pirate grimaced again, pulling his arm from Norrington's grip. "Captain Jack Sparrow," he said. Elizabeth, beside me, raised an eyebrow.

"Do you remember the stories?" She whispered to me, to which I nodded. This was the man who - if the rumours were true - had sacked Nassau Port without even firing a shot; he had once been the terror of the Caribbean sea - this was that man? This...bedraggled scarecrow of a man?  
Norrington smiled. "I don't see your ship," he said, reaching behind him for the manacles. Captain Jack Sparrow grinned.

"I'm in the market...as it were." He glanced over to Elizabeth and I. Elizabeth looked away while I pulled her away from him, narrowing my eyes. I swallowed as the two Royal Navy men handed over the pirate's things - a pistol, a compass and - was that a sword?

Norrington snorted to himself as he looked over the Captain's things. "You are, without doubt, the worst pirate I've ever heard of."

Jack Sparrow's eyes glinted. "Ah, but you have heard of me." He grinned, his expression changing as the Commodore grabbed him, pulling the Captain across the pier to where the shackles were. Elizabeth and I stared at each other with matching expressions of disbelief.

I broke away from the Governor and Elizabeth, following Norrington and Captain Sparrow. "Commodore, I must protest -" I reached for his arm, turning to face him. "Pirate or not, this man saved my life," I glanced behind me at Captain Sparrow who was being shackled by one of the lieutenants. I sighed, folding my arms over my chest. "Nobody else would have been able to rescue me - and now you wish to send him to the gallows?"

Norrington's jaw clenched. "One good deed is not enough to redeem a man from a lifetime of wickedness, Susanna!" I resisted the urge to ask why exactly piracy was so wicked, and pursed my lips. "You will come to learn that, soon enough."

"But it seems to be enough to condemn him," piped up Captain Sparrow from behind me. I glanced back, following the line of his arm to the shackles on his wrists. Norrington smiled that cold smile once again, making me shiver. Was this the man who I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with?

"Indeed." Said Commodore Norrington. I squared my jaw, ready to argue. The noise of the manacles being locked had stopped, and suddenly they had been swung over my head and were being held tight against my neck. I sucked in a breath, watching Elizabeth wrench herself from the guards holding her back only to be restrained by the Governor. I felt hot breath on the back of my neck and resisted the urge to elbow Captain Sparrow in the gut.

The shackles were cold on my neck. "Commodore Norrington, my effects please." Sparrow said from behind me, his voice loud in my ear. I swallowed - I had the option of moving backwards towards Sparrow to get away from the shackles that were pressing into my neck, or letting them cut off my windpipe even more if I moved away. I gasped, meeting the Governor's panicked eyes with my own. "And the hat."

My hands trembled as Norrington prepared to hand the pirate's things to him. In the meantime, Sparrow tightened the shackles, speaking close to my ear. "Susanna...it is Susanna, isn't it?" His breath whispering over my neck. Tears formed in the corners of my eyes but I blinked them away.

I gritted my teeth. "It's Miss Swann to you, pirate." I said venomously. I could almost see the slimy smile Sparrow was making behind me.

"Ah, you didn't seem to care if I was a pirate earlier," he hissed, to which I was preparing to elbow him in the stomach for. I set my jaw, watching as Norrington's eyes met mine before he handed Sparrow the pistol and hat. "Susanna, if you'd be so kind." I ignored the blatant disrespect for my wish to be called Miss Swann. Norrington handed me the hat and before I knew it, a pistol was being held to my head and I'd been spun around to face the pirate. His eyes raked over my face as I stared at the pistol. "Come come, we don't have all day," he said with the glimmer of a smirk forming on his despicable face. I pressed my lips together, reaching up to put on his hat and ignoring his gaze that swept downward, towards the medallions or God knew what. My lip curled as I reached around him to buckle up the effects.

Sparrow pressed himself up against me, his body just as soaking as mine, the heat from his chest radiating through his shirt and causing a small whimper to escape my lips. "I still want an answer to my question." He whispered in my ear as I buckled up the sword belt, pulling it as tight as I could manage - he deserved to face the gallows. I scowled.

"Which question exactly?" I asked, knowing full well what. A dark eyebrow twitched up as once again, he glanced downwards to the necklaces. I swallowed, glaring. "You are a despicable human being," I hissed, which earned a slimy grin.

"Sticks and stones, love - you saved my life, I saved yours...we'd be equal if you'd have given me an answer." I bit the inside of my cheek to save myself from standing on his toe hard.

I glared up at him - he was ever-so-slightly taller than me which unnerved me a little. "I don't owe you anything." I said, raising my chin. A one-sided smile, before he spun me around to have the chains back on my neck.

"You keep tellin' yourself that, lassie," he hissed in my ear as he started to move backwards. My heart plunged - where was he going? He wasn't kidnapping me, was he? I glanced at Norrington, who had started to move forward, his hand on his sword. "Gentlemen -" Sparrow announced. "Susanna," he said to me, "you will always remember this day as the day that you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow." The chains were whipped back from my neck, spinning me around one last time. "Many thanks for your services, girl." He grinned, before pushing me backwards so I fell at Norrington's feet. I let out a scream as soldiers surrounded me, muskets ripping at my petticoat sleeves as they raced after Sparrow.


	4. Chapter 4

Elizabeth ran a hand through her hair which she had loosened from underneath her hat. "I suppose you won't be attending the dinner this evening," she said, staring out at the bay. I glanced up at her.

"Why should I not be?" I asked. I hoped this wasn't another sympathetic 'oh, Susanna, it must have been so frightening for you to be threatened by a dirty pirate.' I bit my lip. Everybody had been like that after the pirate had been arrested - which served him right. My throat was still burning from how he had pressed the chain into my neck. Norrington, luckily, had left me alone to think about an answer to his proposal - that was one of the few good things that had come out from today.

Elizabeth frowned. "Well, of course, nobody is expecting you to be so..." she peered out from under her eyelashes. "Well, so put together about it all." She reached across from her chair and took my hand. "I know you don't enjoy these parties, so why don't you let me take your place? I could wear your necklace," she said.

My jaw dropped. Was Elizabeth Swann, my own adoptive sister, actually encouraging me to take my leave of the party? "The - the medallion?" I stuttered, to which she nodded.

"The pirate was holding it when we found you on the docks," she noted. "He looked as though he had seen it before. Did he..." she hesitated, fists curling in her dress. "Did he say anything about it?" Elizabeth looked at me, her brow furrowing. We both knew where we had come across the medallion - when we had first met Will, on the voyage from England. He had been wearing it, and Elizabeth had pulled it off him and handed it to me to look after, fearing that he was a pirate and would be hanged. That was only a few days after I had been discovered as a stowaway, hiding in the hold with nothing but a shawl and my father's necklace.

I bit the inside of my cheek. "He...he asked me where I got them," I replied, pulling Will's medallion from around my neck and letting it pool in Elizabeth's waiting palm. She smiled, fastening it around her neck. "Then when..." I blushed as I remembered having to fasten his belt around his waist. Elizabeth nodded, understanding what I meant. "He said he still wanted an answer, to which I replied that I didn't owe him anything." I swallowed, my hand going to my neck where I could still feel the chains' iciness biting into my skin.

Elizabeth shot me a smile. "I wonder why he knew them," she said. "This medallion, I suppose it makes sense - it's a pirate medallion, and...well, he's a pirate. But your other necklace..." She frowned. "It's just a family heirloom, is it not?" I resisted the urge to tell her the story behind it - the whole story, not just the tale I told people. The story behind the rough flint thunderstone that my father's father nine times over had been handed from the lake people of Llyn-y-Fan, the lake near my old home.

Instead, I faked a smile and nodded. "Yes, it's been in my family for generations. They say it holds some kind of magic, but I have never seen anything of the sort and I don't particularly wish to." My smile faded as the lie slipped easily out of my mouth. I knew exactly what kind of magic it held, and there was always a part of me that wished I could see it again. "Besides, it's probably an old wives' tale. The people at home were always superstitious of anything that was found in that godforsaken lake."

Elizabeth frowned. "Which lake?" She asked, and ice ran down my spine. I hadn't told her that part of the story.

I swallowed, blood rushing to my face. "The lake where it was found, by my home. The lake was said to be a door to the other world, where people go after they die, because it was so deep that nobody has ever seen the bottom." I took a deep breath after recounting the tales of Llyn-y-Fan. "Because of that, nobody trusted anything that was found there or on the hills around it. Dangerous, they said - bad luck. Because you can never trust someone who is already dead; they know what it is like to die, and so you cannot threaten them." I stopped abruptly, realising I had said too much. Elizabeth was staring at me with a curious light shining in her eyes. I took a deep breath, hoping she didn't ask something awkward.

She didn't - no, what she said just made me feel worse about lying to her and the Governor. "It's strange," she murmured, fiddling with the medallion. "Every time I think I know you, or...about your past before the crossing, you go and prove me wrong. It makes me wonder, you know - about what you have and haven't been telling us." Seeing my expression and mistaking it for horror at her thinking I had lied, she shook her head. "Not that you've lied, I don't think you have..." I stared at the floor, wondering how many times I had lied. Elizabeth was completely wrong about that. I swallowed. "More that...you've been withholding information. You've...forgotten to mention them, in a way." She glanced at me. "Oh, now I've made you feel bad. I'm sorry, I -"

I shook my head. It was time, I thought. Time to tell her the truth, the whole truth. I knew I could trust her, she had more than earned it. I turned to her, grasping her hands as the light began to die behind the horizon.

"You must never tell anyone this story," I whispered earnestly. "I have been lying all these years, for both my safety and yours. I cannot express how sorry I am about this, but to begin with I didn't know if I could trust you or even if I would live, and then...over the years I told myself that nobody need burden themselves with it." I swallowed.

"What is it?" Elizabeth asked.

I took a deep breath. "I was born Siwan Pendragon, my father being Arthur Pendragon the ninth. The necklace was given to me upon my tenth birthday. I didn't lie; it is a family heirloom. But," I smiled regretfully. "Quite a bit older than you think, I'm afraid. It was handed to the original Arthur Pendragon - you know, the one from the stories - by his friend, Merlin. It's blessed with his power, the power of the skies - I'm sure you've heard the tales?" Elizabeth nodded warily, as if wondering where I was going.

"Is it really true?" She asked suspiciously. "You aren't lying to me?" I felt a flush of shame, but shook my head.

"If you'll let me carry on..." I said, watching her bite her lip and nod. I could tell she wasn't happy about this, about my lies. Nobody would. I would want to leave behind the liar forever, and Elizabeth seemed to feel the same struggle. "My father was a shepherd, as everyone was. Is. If they're not...you know." I looked down at the docks. "The East India Trading Company's British branch invaded my valley where the village lay to get rid of all the people in order to build a dam to bring water to Liverpool, and they burnt everything to the ground." I didn't look at Elizabeth as I remembered the screams, the flames and the smoke...I swallowed. "There were...a certain amount of us who managed to escape. I was one, my father another. We hid in the caves of the mountains, but they weren't far enough away from the village that we couldn't see and hear what was happening." My chin trembled and my eyes filled with tears.

I rubbed my eyes angrily. "Those who survived but didn't escape were...rounded up, like animals. The women were...tied to a post in the market square and beaten," I winced, the red stripes on the backs of my friends and family imprinted on my mind forever. "They were...ah...taken advantage of before being sold to the highest bidder. I saw..." I took a sudden intake of breath, the tears spilling over, hot and wet as Elizabeth stared in horror. "I saw such horrors," I whispered. "I will never forget what they did." My shoulders heaved as the wind picked up. "A few days later, we were found. My father was the leader, and so he was...whipped and beaten and then beheaded, while the rest of us were taken to be sold. I didn't wish to be sold, nor did anyone else, so we...we harnessed the magic of the necklace, Merlin's magic, to create a storm and a fog that would obscure our escape. We did - most of us. My grandmother told me to run, run to Plymouth and stow away on a ship bound for the furthest reaches of the earth to get away from the tyranny. So I did. I ensured that none of them will get Merlin's power." My voice hardened as I remembered the cruel faces of my mother's rapists, the blood-soaked hands as they whipped them until bone was visible.

I turned to Elizabeth. "They were hunting me, Elizabeth." I whispered. "They followed me all the way from my home to Plymouth. I only lost them because I hid on your ship. So it's true...that I couldn't tell you because it was dangerous," I said. "Well, it was. I'm sorry I didn't tell you this sooner, I was -" I stopped myself before I started to make excuses.  
Elizabeth's eyes were cold, but her face betrayed her feelings - sadness, and disappointment. I swallowed as she began to speak. "Susanna, I trusted you with everything. And this is how you repay me?" She stood, disbelieving. "I told everything to you. I spoke of my mother's death, I told you about Will - and you've been lying to me ever since!"

I swallowed. "I know," was all I could say before Elizabeth huffed and left me sitting on the balcony as tears started to fall like the rainstorm outside.


	5. Chapter 5

It was some hours later that Will Turner ran up to the fort, a cut above his brow and a bruise on his forehead. He held a worn hatchet in one hand, and he looked as though he'd been through a fight. His eyes fell on me. "Susanna - where's Elizabeth?"  
I shook my head, a small tear escaping my eye. Will seemed to deflate; he knew as well as I that there was little chance in us catching up to Elizabeth now, especially with only one fast ship on our side. The Interceptor was not equipped for fighting pirates, even if we knew where the ship was headed.  
Will turned to James. "And you're just going to wait while Elizabeth is in danger?" He asked loudly. I bit my lip. "There must be something we can do."  
One of the Navy men spoke up then. "That Jack Sparrow, he spoke 'bout the Pearl." I studied his face carefully, recognising him as one of the men who were there when Sparrow had pulled me from the water the day before. He had been the one to hold my corset. I swallowed - Murtogg, I thought his name was.  
"Mentioned is more what he did," muttered the other; Mullroy. Will turned to them, inspiration flashing in his eyes. I felt a sense of apprehension creep up my spine - he wasn't planning what I thought he was planning, was he?  
James started to speak but Will interrupted angrily, throwing the hatchet so it stuck into the map. I flinched; I had never seen someone throw one with such force. And the table was mahogany...  
I stood. "That's not good enough!" Will shouted, breathing heavily. I placed my hand on his shoulder gently, trying to console him but James interrupted, walking around the table in that assertive manner he had.  
"You are not a military man, William Turner," he said, drawing Will away. I moved forward and pulled the hatchet from the map, staring at the hole it had made in the parchment - a clean, sharp cut. I didn't want to think what it would be like had this weapon stuck in the back of someone's skull. "You are not a sailor." James carried on. "You are a blacksmith." He turned to look at me. "Susanna, please bring William the weapon and have him escort you back to the house. This is not a place for a woman." His tone was one that I couldn't argue with, so I tried not to scowl as I placed the weapon in Will's waiting hand and let him lead me away.  
As soon as we were out of earshot, he turned to me. "We're going straight to the blacksmith's and getting you out of that awful dress, then you're coming with me to see what that Jack Sparrow knows." He whispered, flipping the hatchet over and over in his hands. I swallowed - did he mean I was coming with him? More so, how on earth did Will expect me to know what to do when we did find Elizabeth - I couldn't fight; I hadn't fought since I was thirteen when I'd stowed away.  
I nodded as he led me through the back alleys to the blacksmiths. He ducked in, checking his employer, Mister Brown, was still asleep, then beckoned me in. I followed him as he walked to his tiny bedroom behind the forge, digging out all manner of leather aprons and goodness knows what else. Eventually, he held up a white shirt, an old coat, some breeches that looked far too long and a pair of leather boots like his own. "I outgrew these years ago," he explained while leaving the room for me to change. I stared at the clothes, a feeling of fear filling my stomach. Was I really about to do this?  
I steeled myself. Yes, yes I was. I had once done things like this, braving storms and cliffs to rescue the most lonely and lost lambs, I had grown up doing these things. I would not let the past eight years of stuffy womanliness get the better of my nature. I wouldn't.  
Pulling on the clothes, I realised just how much taller Will was. Damn him, we were the same age - twenty-one - and yet he was still taller than me. He seemed to have shot up when we were about eighteen, and now had to duck whenever he entered the low-ceilinged room.  
When I emerged, Will burst out laughing. I folded my arms over my chest indignantly. "I don't look that bad," I said with a scowl. He shook his head, snorting.  
"It's not that, Susanna," he laughed. He motioned to the sleeves which he rolled up to my elbows. "You're just too small." He grinned, grabbing a sword and handing it to me as he tucked one of his best into his belt. I frowned, staring at the weapon. I hadn't touched a sword like this before. Will stared at me. "Come on!" He called, halfway to the door. I swallowed. I'd always worked with knives and a shepherd's crook; how could I hope to try and use something as long as this?  
"I -" I began to say, but stopped myself halfway through. I would do this to save Elizabeth. Besides, if we were to get out of Port Royal with a pirate, then Will could teach me the basics. I squared my jaw and slipped the sword into my belt, racing after Will.  
He was already halfway down the lane. I caught up with him, breathing heavily. "Thank God, I thought you were just going to stare at that sword all day." He led me back up the cobbled pathways to the fort, where we managed to slip into the prison without being seen.  
It was dark and gloomy inside the walls of the fort, and water was dripping somewhere. I held my nose as Will led me down to the cells. A huge, gaping hole had been blasted through the wall of one of the cells, and a black cannonball lay menacingly on the floor. I swallowed. The fort was far from the harbour where the Black Pearl had been anchored, so the cannons must have had huge force behind them to blast a hole this large in a thick stone wall designed to keep people from escaping. I supposed it was only good for keeping people out.  
Will approached one cell, and I followed him. Captain Sparrow was lying down in one cell, his hat over his face. "You!" Will called through the bars. "Sparrow!"  
He looked up, raising an eyebrow. "Eh?"  
Will looked at me in disgust; he smelled awful. Worse than he had yesterday. I held my breath, watching as he sighed. "We need your help. Where does the Black Pearl make berth?" At that, Sparrow sat up, a disgruntled expression on his face.  
Slowly, realisation dawned on his features. "You've not heard the stories, lad? An'..." he motioned to me. "Girl." I scowled, crossing my arms. Sparrow sighed. "The Black Pearl and its crew of...miscreants sail from the Isla de Muerta, an island what can only be found by those who know where it is." A slow smile spread across his face and I stared. If he knew that, then surely he knew where this Isla de Muerta was? Even so, it didn't sound good - the island of death wasn't somewhere I wanted to visit any time soon.  
Will leaned against the bars. "If the ship is real, then its anchorage must also be real," he reasoned. "Where is it?"  
Sparrow stood, wandering towards the bars. I shrank away, partly after the memory of him restraining me by the chains and also the absolute stink of his breath. He glanced down at me. "Why're you asking me?" He asked, evidently playing with us. I gritted my teeth.  
"Because you're a pirate! I exclaimed angrily. Sparrow stared down at me, recognising my face.  
His grin widened. "Lad, please contain your little girl." He leaned closer. "Finally decided to give me an answer then?" He asked, showing blackened and broken teeth in his smile. I fought the urge to retch.  
"I am not a little girl!" I said loudly, gritting my teeth. Sparrow leaned against the bars, his hands between mine and Will's.  
He ignored me. "So tell me, laddie, why're you and the girl so fascinated with the Pearl?" He asked, only infuriating me more. I had to fight the urge to storm out and throw the keys into the harbour. It wouldn't help Elizabeth at all, but it would at least bring me some pleasure. After all, Will could probably get him out without needing the keys.  
Will sighed. "They've taken Elizabeth."  
Sparrow's eyes brightened. "Ah, so it is that you've found a girl." He grinned. "Well, if you're about to hasten off to brave all, rescue young miss and so win said fair lady's heart, then you're going to have to do it yourself, mate. I see no profit in it for me." He gave a one-sided smile and sidled back into the cell.  
My hands curled into fists. "We can get you out of here," I said impulsively, hoping that either Will would be able to get him out or we could find the dog with the keys. Sparrow looked up at me, arching a dark eyebrow.  
"I still don't see how that would help, girl. I'd be stuck on an island with no-one but...wig people and no ship." He flashed a sarcastic grin at me. "Anyway, the keys've run off." He motioned to the door where a small pile of dog excrement lay. I covered my mouth in disgust.  
Will was eying the cells. "I can get you out of here," he said after a moment. "These are half-pin barrel hinges." Sparrow and I exchanged a joint look which said what? Will grabbed the bench from behind him, hooking the feet into the cell door. "With the proper leverage and application of strength the door should lift free!" He stared into the cell, where Sparrow had turned and was staring at Will.  
"What's your name, boy?" Sparrow asked, sidling up to the bars again. Will swallowed and gave it. Once again I wondered why the pirates had been so excited about the medallion and Will's name. The only thing I knew about the medallion was that Elizabeth had taken it from Will when he was hauled on board the Dauntless. Did it mean they knew Will? Was Will a pirate? Sparrow's eyes narrowed. "Named for your father, no doubt." He said, but it was more of a statement than a question. Will nodded, evidently wondering why his name was so important when we were trying to break a man out of prison. "Good, strong name." Sparrow said, his eyes gleaming. "Well, William and...Susanna, wasn't it? I've changed me mind." He grinned. "If you two spring me from this cell, I swear on pain of death that I will take you to the Black Pearl and yer bonny lass." He looked over at me. "Though I can't imagine we'll be taking the girl, will we?" He looked over at Will.  
My cheeks flamed. "Elizabeth is my sister, you - you pirate! I will not be staying here and ending up marrying that powdered wig-wearing git without at least doing something." I shouted, not caring anymore if anybody heard. Will shot me a look that said not now, but I was too enraged to stop. "And you will stop calling me 'girl'? I'm the same age as Will!"  
Sparrow scowled, looking me over. "William, I have one more condition. I will ensure your delivery to the Pearl and your bonny lass, as long as the girl here gives me an answer to my one question once we get going." Will stared at me as I scowled. That was blackmail, he knew we couldn't refuse. Will nodded and I sighed heavily as he pressed hard on the bench, effectively letting the heavy door lift free from its hinges.  
Sparrow skipped free as the noise faded. "Quickly, someone will have heard that." Will said, leading the way as Sparrow grabbed his things and followed us. We stared out of the entrance to the prison, making sure the way was clear as we escaped the prison with Sparrow in tow.  
Before we were spotted Will pulled us under a bridge overlooking the bay, where several of the Navy's ships were docked. I swallowed as Will followed Sparrow's gaze. "We're going to steal a ship?" He asked in disbelief. Sparrow moved his gaze to the furthest ship out in the bay. "That ship?" If it were possible, Will's voice would have gone even higher.  
Sparrow sighed impatiently. "Commandeer. We are going to commandeer that ship." I stared at the back of his head as he turned around to face Will and I. He saw our looks of confusion. "Nautical term. Now, how far are you two ready to go to save yer bonny lass?"  
"I'd die for her!" Will promised, causing me to frown. Would I die for Elizabeth? Sparrow seemed to have the same reaction as I did and raised his eyebrows.  
Sparrow stared at Will. "Well, that's settled then." He beckoned for us to hide under one of the wooden canoes that sat along the water's edge. It stank of fish, and I nearly gagged at the smell. Sparrow turned around from where he sat at the front of the boat and grinned. "You're going to have to get used to that, lassie, if you want to become a pirate."  
I frowned. "I will not be a pirate any time soon, Sparrow." I said haughtily while Will groaned from the middle. "And nor will Will." I added  
"Can we get on with rescuing Elizabeth please?" He asked, his voice tinged with annoyance. I stifled a laugh and poked his shoulder. After a moment of silence, Sparrow began to move forward, crouching down on his heels so the boat was only just off the ground.  
Part of me wondered what on earth we must have looked like, a seemingly-overturned boat with three pairs of feet walking down to the water's edge. Then we hit the water and I gasped at the cold, memories of being immersed in black icy waters the night before while Elizabeth screamed my name -  
Will stopped, putting his hand on my shoulder. "Are you all right?"He asked me quietly, and I managed to nod. I would not seem weak in front of this pirate who would most probably make fun of me because I was afraid of a little cold water.  
Sparrow turned around. "Look, you two, if you're going to hold me up I'm going to have to leave you behind, then your bonny lass won't get saved and she'll most likely get killed. Savvy?" His face was clouded in shadow, but Will turned around, nodding.  
A few minutes later, we were underwater, the noises of our breathing loud in the enclosed space of the boat. It created some kind of pocket of air which we could breathe in. The only downside was that Sparrow's breath stank to high heaven and I didn't know how much longer I could cope. Besides, how on earth did he know where we were going?  
A loud crunch came when Will stepped into a lobster pot, at which I had to stifle a laugh. It would be Will who hit the pot - I supposed now all we had to do was hope that there were no lobsters of crabs in the pot.  
Eventually, a dark shape loomed out of the fogginess of the water and Sparrow ordered us to let go of the boat. I took a deep breath, let go and grasped Will's hand as he pulled us to the surface. I came up, spluttering and gasping for air, in the shadow of the Dauntless. We could only watch as Sparrow grabbed some of the ornate carvings on the side and began to pull him up. He couldn't be really imagining that we would...that we would have to climb up that!  
When Will followed and I reached the boat, I found that the wood was much easier than it looked to hang on to, and I managed to reach the top without falling. My wet feet would slip on the wood and yank me down, and once Sparrow had sighed and climbed down to pull me up, but other than that, I reached the top with a sense of accomplishment.  
We found Lieutenant Gillette and his men on the ship. He laughed, in that demeaning way of his. "This ship cannot be crewed by two men alone." He said, blatantly ignoring me. My temper flared, but Will held me back, his cheeks still red after his embarrassment earlier.  
Sparrow grinned crookedly, raising his pistol and cocking it so it was ready to fire. "Son," he said. "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow. Savvy?"  
Gillette could only gulp as he went cross-eyed to stare down the barrel of the gun. Within three minutes, he and his men were down on the longboat and waving at the Interceptor which was approaching. Sparrow turned to us, his grin still in place. "Disable the rudder chain!" He shouted at us.  
Will leapt into action, and I could only follow, not having a clue what Sparrow's plan was. After the Interceptor reached us, Sparrow grabbed me and pulled me into the shadows behind the helm. Will joined us as James and his men boarded our ship. Sparrow put a finger to his lips, motioning to the ropes he had prepared. My heart skipped a beat. We'd have to swing from this ship to the Interceptor?  
I gulped, grasping one of the ropes so hard my knuckles turned white. After a moment of tense silence as James ordered his men to search the ship, Sparrow motioned for us to swing. I held back a yelp as we landed hard on the deck of the Interceptor, Will immediately cutting the lines that held us to the Dauntless.  
Sparrow waved back at James. "Oi! Thanks for getting the ship ready, would've been much harder without you!" He ducked as bullets began to fly, pulling Will and I down with him. I shook as I heard James yelling at the men to stop when he saw that I was there.  
James waved at me, evidently trying to get me to jump from this ship and swim to his, but I refused. I wouldn't be going anywhere with him until Elizabeth was safe once more. Will stood next to me, staring at the retreating Port Royal. I swallowed, looking up at him. Was this a good decision? Who knew if either of us would come out alive. I bit my lip, feeling dread begin to pool in the bottom of my stomach. I had a strange feeling that something bad was going to happen.


	6. Chapter 6

When we were safely out of the bay, Will and I both relaxed a little. So far, everything was going fine. He sat down on the stairs leading to the helm as I balanced against the rigging on the side of the ship, watching Will as he sharpened his sword. After he'd finished, he reached for mine and showed me the movements.  
"When I was a lad, living in England, my mother raised me by herself," Will said, seemingly calmly. From where I was sat I could see the calculating look on his face and knew he was up to something. What did he want from Sparrow? "When she died, I came out here, looking for my father."  
Sparrow didn't even look down. He made a noise of dismissal, which I put down to the fact that he was steering the ship. I frowned. Will stood, looking at Sparrow. "My father - William Turner." He sighed heavily. "I'm not a simpleton, Jack. It was only after you heard my name that you agreed to help us save Elizabeth." He took a step towards the pirate, who looked up, dark eyes cold. "Don't lie. You knew my father."  
After a long moment, Sparrow took his hat off and nodded. "Aye, that's right. I knew him." He said heavily, as though recounting bad memories. I studied the lines of his face, wondering how old he was. He seemed to have that kind of timeless face that could have been twenty or fifty. My guess would be closer to thirty, possibly about twenty-eight. He caught me staring and smirked, at which I dropped my gaze and flushed.  
He let go of the wheel and stood next to Will. "I was probably one of the few who knew him as William Turner. Most people just called him Bootstrap, or Bootstrap Bill." His grin turned to me. "Good man, good pirate." He added, turning back to the wheel.  
Will's reaction was electric. "He was not a pirate; he was a merchant sailor - a good man!" He nearly shouted. I inhaled sharply; it was never a good idea to raise your voice against someone who knew how to fight with not only a sword but probably a multitude of other weapons.  
Sparrow rolled his eyes, turning the wheel a little to the left. "He was a bloody pirate, a scallywag." He said without much expression, evidently caring more about getting the Interceptor safely to wherever he was taking us than Will's distress.  
I hopped down from the side of the ship and approached Will. He didn't react when I stood behind him, taking his sword from the scabbard and pointing it at Sparrow's chest. Will's jaw was tight. "My father was not a pirate." He said stiffly, glaring at the end of the sword. Sparrow looked at the sword as if it were no more than a twig, then pushed the blade away.  
"Put it away, boy, there's no point in you getting beat again." He said quite calmly, barely acknowledging Will's existence. I huffed, crossing my hands over my chest. He had fought Will before?  
Will stiffened. "You cheated. You ignored the rules of engagement - in a fair fight, I'd have killed you."  
Sparrow turned to Will and grinned, raising an eyebrow. Before either of us could move, he had swung the ship's wheel to one side, causing the yardarm to swing across, hitting Will in the chest and knocking me over. I cried out as Will dangled above the water, his face reddening.  
"Now listen, boy." Sparrow said, his voice turning into an angry rumble. "The only rules what matter in life are these: What a man can do, and what he can't. For example," he gestured to me. "The girl could jump ship right now and make my job a lot easier, but I doubt she will. You, for instance - you could accept that your father was a pirate and a bloody good one too, or you couldn't. Pirate is in your blood, boy," he said, grabbing the back of my shirt as I tried to scramble to reach Will "and you'd better square with that someday." I wrestled myself out of Sparrow's grasp, turning and glaring at him. "Now me, for example. I could let you drown right here, right now, and kick the girl off the ship because she's bloody annoying. I could also let her stay because she's a nice view," he shot me a suggestive grin which caused me to flush. "but the chances are I'd let her drown because she'd jump ship if you'd drowned. Or," Sparrow swung the wheel back so the yardarm swung back to its usual place, dumping Will unceremoniously on the deck with a thump. "I could let you live because I can't sail into Tortuga all by me onesies. Savvy?" He pointed Will's sword at his neck.  
I held my breath as the sword was flipped back, offering the handle to Will. He took it, brushing himself off. "Tortuga?" He asked.  
Sparrow grinned. "Tortuga."

*

It was late, and Will had fallen asleep on deck long ago. Sparrow was still at the helm, seemingly not needing sleep as he stared at the horizon, almost a statue-like silhouette against the sunset. I shuffled out from under the sail Will had found that we'd shared as a makeshift blanket and leaned against the rail of the ship, staring out at the inky black waters. I shuddered, remembering how cold and deep they were.  
Elizabeth was out there, somewhere, I told myself as I moved my gaze to the horizon. They'd had at least a day's head-start, and could have been anywhere. I just wished I knew where. They could have been sailing in the complete opposite direction for all I knew. Sparrow could be taking us off to Europe while Elizabeth was being taken to this Isla de Muerta.  
"Still awake?" Asked Sparrow from the helm. My gaze hardened as I spun around to see him staring down at me. I nodded curtly. "Never done anything like this, I spose." He said, his words either demeaning or complimentary. I couldn't tell which.  
I was silent, staring up at the man who had threatened my life just two days before. "So, are ye going to give me an answer about that necklace o' yours, or am I going to be kept waiting?" He shot me a crooked grin. I chewed on the inside of my lip.  
"You knew something about the other necklace," I accused. "You know why Barbossa wanted it - why he took Elizabeth and not me." I grasped a rope hanging from the Crow's Nest tight.  
Sparrow was silent, then he nodded. "Trust me, girl, you'd not want to be in that lass' place right now." He said, his voice like a sigh. Ice ran through my insides. He wasn't...Sparrow wasn't saying that Barbossa could be - be doing unwanted things to my sister, was he? I gulped, remembering the sights of the women being tied to a blood-soaked post and screaming as they were whipped and - and...  
I didn't realise I had slid to the floor until Sparrow approached me, his footsteps soft on the wooden deck. "You gave the girl the medallion, didn't you." It wasn't a question, but I nodded. "And now Barbossa has it." I nodded again. He stood over me for a moment, staring down at me with his eyebrows furrowed as if he were trying to work me out. "You're not a Swann by birth, are you?"  
I shook my head, suddenly feeling strangely comfortable with this rugged pirate. "I was adopted when I was thirteen after stowing away on the ship they were on eight years ago." I scratched my chin, staring at the warped wood of the deck.  
"I didn't think so," he said, coming to sit beside me. I scooted away from him, eyeing him with caution. "You're a Celt." He spoke without looking at me. "It's why Barbossa dislikes you. He's one, but his family was killed, so he hates anyone with Celtic blood because it's likely they still have family alive."  
I swallowed. "My family are all dead." I stated, my voice hollow. I hadn't said those words for years, since we arrived in Port Royal.  
"So your father...it was your father, wasn't it? He gave you the necklace to take far away from Britain so the Trading Company would never get hold of it, am I right?" I stared at him through narrowed eyes. How did he know this? He couldn't read minds, could he?  
I swallowed, fiddling with the necklace that fell between my breasts. "How do you know of the necklace?" I asked finally, watching the rough flint catch the light of the lanterns. He sighed, throwing his head back to gaze at the stars.  
"I heard the stories, but never thought they were true. It's a story every pirate child knows, the story of Merlin's thunderstone that supposedly plays an important part in the release of -" He stopped himself, and before I could open my mouth to ask what my necklace would help release, he started to speak again. "Pirate's in your blood too," he said. "Not your father, I wouldn't think, but your grandfather?" He studied my face.  
I tried to keep my features neutral and failed. I had known that my grandfather would leave suddenly for long periods of time, and my grandmother would love to regale tales of her dead husband, supposedly killed at sea. He had been a sailor, and that had been one of the reasons that my father had been so adamant to bring me and my brother up far from the sea. Sparrow smiled. "I thought so." He said. "You were born with the sea in your blood, the love of freedom."  
I swallowed. "My father tried to keep me away from the sea." I admitted. "I had never seen it before I stowed away."  
"The sea calls to those with freedom in their blood," Sparrow said, sounding as though he was quoting something. I sighed, following his gaze up to the sky.  
"Why do you want to know, anyway?" I asked irritably. I could feel tiredness creeping up on me, pulling my eyelids down to the deck and sweeping over me with its cloak of darkness. Sparrow's smile turned into a smirk.  
He threw his arm around me, nearly knocking me over with the force. "Wouldn't you like to know," he said, almost to himself. He didn't seem to feel me tense as he touched my bare shoulders, and I moved out of his grasp.  
"Don't touch me." I said suddenly, standing and moving away from him. I didn't trust him, no matter how much he seemed to know about me, no matter how calm and un-pirate-like he seemed. Sparrow grinned slowly, like a cat who had caught its prey in a corner and was waiting for it to move so it could pounce. I could see him as some kind of spider, with a web of lies surrounding him, and a plot that he could twitch a string of and would end up with someone dead at his feet. I shuddered.  
Slowly, he stood up, towering over me. He was about Will's height, and far from it seeming brotherly and warm, his height just made me feel smaller and more vulnerable. "Now, why would that be, young miss?" He said, walking slowly towards me. I felt my breathing change, my eyes darting about for an escape route.  
I found one, and rushed over to Will, standing behind his sleeping form so that to reach me, Sparrow would have to step over Will. He couldn't touch me that way, I knew. "Don't touch me," I whispered, pointing a pale finger at him. I sank to the floor, pulling a part of the sail over my knees and watching him warily. Eventually, Sparrow stopped looking at Will and I and walked back to the helm, where he stood watch all night.

 **A/N Thanks for reading and all that! I know this story is a little slow to begin with - Susanna has a lot of things that need explaining and I wanted to have this story to be a little longer than eight chapters (it reached thirteen by the time I started the next book). But it's not going to be the kind of story where it's love at first sight - in fact it's a bit more of hate at first sight. Susanna has a lot of trust issues after what happened in her past and she's grown up being taught that pirates are bad so naturally it's going to take time for her to come to trust Jack.**

 **Don't forget to review and thanks to all those who have and those who've favourite/followed! I don't think any of my stories have ever been this popular on here before so it's still crazy to think that people actually read these 0_0**


	7. Chapter 7

Will and I were both awoken by Sparrow's shouting. I rubbed my eyes, seeing that the light was long and warm, the air fuzzy and humid from the heat of the day. From somewhere close came a scream followed by a laugh of delight, loud music and raucous singing. Accompanied by the noise came a smell worse than the pigsties at home. I held my breath, watching as Sparrow walked to the edge of the deck.  
He grinned at Will. "Tortuga." He pointed to the small town at which we were docked. The faint flickering of night-lamps came from the town. Will stared at me. What sane person would want to go to this godforsaken place?  
Will seemed to be thinking the same thing and shot me a look of disgust. I nodded, following Sparrow down the gangplank and onto the pier, which seemed to wobble beneath us. Ships were moored all around us, and it seemed for a minute that we were in a city of ships, towering above us.  
Sparrow led us through alleyways, dodging past drunks and young women with dresses that seemed to be low-cut deliberately. Their hair seemed to be in a permanent state of disarray, their eyes darkened and cheeks painted red. I had never seen such a place.  
I jumped as a gunshot sounded, followed by a bout of screaming laughter that chilled me to the bone. Will put a protective hand on my shoulder as we followed Sparrow, who looked quite at home in this crazy place. He turned to us.  
"It truly is a sad life that has never smelled the sweet bouquet that is Tortuga," Sparrow said, picking up a walking stick from a man that was falling over with a glass of rum in his hand. I felt sick already. "What d'you think?"  
Will looked at me then back at the pirate in front of us as though wondering if he was all right in the head. "It'll linger," he said at last. Sparrow hooked one arm around him and the other around me. I tried to ignore the smell and tried to prise myself out of his grasp, but he was stronger than I realised.  
"Trust me, son, if every town in the world were like this one, no man would ever feel lonely." He grinned, disentangling himself from Will and me as he was approached by one of the women, with dark hair and smudged lips, a dress that revealed far too much to be proper and a furious expression on her face. "Scarlett!" Sparrow said, seemingly ecstatic to see this woman. He was greeted with a hard slap to the face, which shocked me. I didn't like the fact that women were meant to be seen and not heard, but I was sure that it most certainly wasn't polite to go around slapping people in the face!  
Sparrow stretched his jaw. "I don't think I deserved that," he said to us, turning back around. He saw another woman, similar to the other but blonde this time. Will and I exchanged a look - we'd seen an expression similar to that before, on the other woman. "Giselle!" Sparrow held up both his hands, once again like he'd seen the most beautiful thing in the universe.  
"Who was she?" Giselle asked furiously, bringing her palm around to connect with Sparrow's jaw. She flounced off, her skirts rippling behind her. Will and I looked at one another again with matching expressions of disbelief. Apparently this pirate had some kind of reputation in this place.  
Will looked back to Sparrow. "I suppose you didn't deserve that?" He asked, raising his dark eyebrows. Sparrow winced, rubbing his jaw.  
He shook his head. "That one I may have deserved." He admitted, wincing. Will and I snorted, steering well clear of those two women who were stood by the entrance to a tavern talking to stocky, pot-bellied men. Sparrow seemed to know exactly where he was going as he led us round the back of the Faithful Bride Inn and into the pigsty.  
The stench was overpowering. I nearly choked on the smell of rotting vegetables and mud and more. Sparrow ducked into the covered area, picking up one of the water buckets for the pigs. Will did so too, frowning ever-so-slightly.  
Sparrow threw the contents of his bucket onto a sleeping man who was using a pig as a pillow. I winced as his eyes flew open, and the stout man brandished a bottle of rum as if it would help. "Curse ye for breathin', yer slack-jawed idiot!" He grumbled, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. They fell on Sparrow. "Mother's love," he said. "Jack!"  
I glanced at Will. "And..." the man squinted at us. "The little girl what got adopted by the Swanns, am I right?" He scanned me over. I frowned, recognising his face from somewhere.  
"Gibbs?" I asked, finally placing the face with the superstitious man who'd forbade Elizabeth from singing on the Dauntless' maiden voyage from England. He'd turned back to Sparrow by then.  
"Mighty bad luck to rouse a man when he's sleeping, you know that, Jack." He said, starting to emerge from the shadows under the pigsty.  
Sparrow grinned, the light reflecting off a golden tooth at the back of his mouth. "Ah, but it's good that I know how to counter said bad luck." He extended a hand. "If the man that did the waking buys the man who did the sleeping a drink, and the man what did the sleeping listens to a proposition by the man that did the waking." He raised an eyebrow.  
Gibbs paused, thinking over this idea. "Aye," he said at last. "That'd do it."

It had taken seemingly forever for us to find a table in one of the inns, and even then it had only had room for Gibbs and Sparrow, so they told us to keep watch. Keep watch my foot! I wanted to hear what they had to say - if they had their heads any closer together they would have been kissing. Unfortunately, Will seemed to take Sparrow's order seriously.  
He elbowed me in the ribs when I tried to listen to their conversation. "Stop eavesdropping." He hissed over the racket in the inn. I had never seen such a rowdy place; it was like the barmen and owners didn't even care about propriety or...or having a clean place. Rum was being spilled everywhere and it stank to high heaven of alcohol and bad breath.  
I scowled. "They're obviously talking about us," I said. "I want to hear what they have to say. You never know, they might be planning to ransom us off to...to somewhere and leave Elizabeth to die." I raised an eyebrow, knowing that mentioning Elizabeth's possible death would get Will to agree with me.  
He sighed. "All right, you listen, I'll keep watch." He elbowed me again.  
"Ow!" I said, glaring at him.  
"But if you get caught, like you will if you carry on being so obvious, you're taking the blame from Jack." I scowled harder, but slid around the pole we were leaning on ever-so-slightly so that I could catch the edges of their conversation.  
"...that there is the child of Bootstrap Bill Turner..." Sparrow was saying. "His only child."  
"And the girl? Why's she there?"  
Sparrow smiled, raising an eyebrow as ice ran into my heart. Oh, good God - he wasn't about to mention the necklace, was he? "That, my friend, is the only surviving relative of the man what stole...her power." He lowered his voice even further so I could only just make out the words. "The nine pieces of eight won't do," he explained. "...this is the key to releasing -" His face twisted as though in pain. My mind flicked back to whatever he had been about to say the night before. Gibbs seemed to understand.  
He glanced up and I managed to look away just in time before they could suspect anything. "Well, I feel a bit of a change in the wind, don't you think?" He said as Will batted away a plump woman with breasts spilling out of her low-cut dress. "There's bound to be some sailors on this rock as crazy as you to go after the Pearl."  
Sparrow grinned, taking a swig of his rum and holding it up. "Take what ye can," he said as Gibbs swigged his drink too, some of the foul liquid running down his beard.  
"Give nothing back!" He smashed the tankard down on the wooden table and the deal was done. I could only hope that the deal didn't involve any of us dying.

The next morning, Gibbs had assembled a crew on the docks. Sparrow was glaring at half of them and looking as though the other half were carrying murderous weapons destined to kill him. With his reputation in Tortuga, it seemed possible.  
They didn't look the best of people, I had to say. Most of them were either old, half-dead, or a mix between the two. One even had a parrot sat on his shoulder - I had thought that was a myth. Sparrow looked at Gibbs, as though questioning his sanity.  
"Feast your eyes, Cap'n." Gibbs said, gesturing to the line of people. "All of them faithful hands before the mast, every man worth his salt and crazy to boot." I looked down the line and decided not to mention that one of the crew was, in fact, a woman who seemed hell-bent on concealing her identity.  
Will looked sceptical. "So this is your able-bodied crew?"  
"They look half dead," I commented, loud enough to deserve some annoyed looks. Sparrow turned to us, as though tired of our background commentary.  
"Look, you two," he said, gesturing wildly with his arms as though he were still drunk from the night before. I swallowed. "do you want to find the Pearl or not? 'Cause we sure as hell can't find it without a crew, and I don't see you two being any use." He looked me over. "Especially you." He said to me, turning back around.  
My hands curled into fists. God, if this man wasn't our only hope of getting Elizabeth back, I'd take him straight back to James in Port Royal and watch him hang. "You! Sailor!" Sparrow stopped before one of the older men - the one with the blue-and-yellow parrot.  
"Cotton, sir." Gibbs said. Sparrow's lip twitched.  
"Do you have the courage and fortitude to follow orders and stay true even in the face of danger and almost certain death?" He asked, his words running together and slurring slightly. I had come to the conclusion that he was almost certainly drunk.  
Gibbs stepped in when Cotton didn't answer. "He's a mute, sir." He explained. "Poor bugger had his tongue cut out -" Cotton opened his mouth to demonstrate a stump of a tongue which made me want to vomit. Who could have done that to him? "- So he trained the parrot to talk for him."  
I shot Gibbs a look asking how? He shrugged. "No-one's yet figured out how." He eyed the parrot as though it were some kind of witch. God, I hoped he would give up on his superstitious ideas.  
"Mr. Cotton's...parrot." Sparrow addressed the bird. "Same question."  
The parrot twitched, looking around. "Wind in the sails! Wind in the sails!" It squawked, nodding as though agreeing with itself. Sparrow nodded.  
"Mostly we figure that means yes," Gibbs explained, still eyeing the parrot as though it would be the next meal on board the Interceptor. Will looked at me as though trying to say, this is crazy.  
There was suddenly a disturbance from the other end of the line - the pirate I had thought was a woman. "What's the benefit for us?" She yelled, hiding her face beneath a wide-brimmed hat. I thought I saw Sparrow wince slightly before he wandered down the line towards the woman. I looked at Will, wondering what reputation he'd have with this woman, before following.  
Sparrow pulled off the hat, letting the woman's long black hair fall down from underneath. "Anamaria!" His expression was somewhere between fake joy and awkwardness.  
Anamaria was pretty, a couple of years older than me, but she looked absolutely fuming. "You stole my boat!" She said angrily, and before Sparrow could reply, she hit him around the face with a slap that made him stumble.  
He straightened, rubbing his cheek. "Borrowed." He corrected as another slap made him step back out of harm's way. Will had to pull me to the side so Sparrow didn't knock me off the edge of the pier. "Borrowed without permission," he said brightly as Anamaria glowered. "But with every intention of bringing it back." He grinned.  
Anamaria's glare was making me wonder how Sparrow was holding his own. "But you didn't!"  
"You'll get another one!" Sparrow said quickly, as though trying to make up for his mistake. I supposed he did deserve that slap.  
Will nodded. "A better one!" He supplied, earning a nod of approval from Sparrow. He gestured wildly.  
"A better one," he agreed. I had a sudden idea, and pointed to the Interceptor where it was moored a little way out of the bay.  
"That one." I said. Sparrow turned around, looking at me as though I'd gone mad. He leaned closer to me, his foul breath making me lean away.  
"That one?" He asked incredulously, as Will and I nodded. Eventually he realised that he couldn't argue now and agreed. "Aye! That one." He glared at me, and I shrugged. "What say you?"  
Anamaria considered it. "Aye!" She yelled after a moment, grabbing her hat out of Sparrow's grip and stalking off towards the ship.

 **A/N Thanks for all the favourites and follows and all! Also: To the guest person who reviewed ever single chapter with an awesome review: I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE AN AMAZING PERSON THANK YOU SO MUCH!**


	8. Chapter 8

A storm broke that night, just as we thought we were going well. Sparrow was at the helm while Will and I tried to hold down the sails and tie them to the deck. Anamaria and Gibbs were doing the same near us, their hair sopping wet and sticking to their soaked faces. Will narrowed his eyes against the sound of crashing waves as one crested over the deck, soaking us in freezing cold water.  
Sparrow was standing at the helm, seemingly calm as the waves thrashed the deck and the wind threatened to tear the sails from the mast. I glanced at Will. "How do we find a place that can't be found with a compass that doesn't point North?" I shouted at him, but it was Gibbs who answered.  
"Aye, but we don't want to find north, do we?" He yelled back, hauling on a line that would bring the sail into the wind. He turned to Sparrow. "We should drop canvas, sir!" He yelled over the wind. Sparrow looked down at us, a faint smile playing about his features.  
He shook his head. "She can hold a little longer!" He yelled back as yet another giant wave nearly swamped us. I shook my hair out of my eyes, suddenly glad for the coat Will had given me. I was utterly freezing and my hands had lost the feeling in them a long time ago.  
Gibbs looked puzzled. "What's got you in such a good mood, Cap'n?" He asked, staggering across the slippery deck to the helm. Sparrow turned to him with a grin.  
"We're catching up."

It didn't take long for us to reach the Isla de Muerta. It loomed through the fog in the distance like some kind of huge monster. Sparrow was busy trying to steer the ship through the rocks, so Gibbs, Will and I all stood by the stairs to the helm.  
"Where did Sparrow come by that compass?" I asked. Will looked at me strangely.  
He sighed. "Come on, Susanna, if he's helping us to get Elizabeth back, you should at least call him by his first name."  
I huffed, folding my arms over my chest. "He nearly got me killed after he was caught by James, if you remember." Will shot me a look, reminding me that he was the one who had saved me in the first place. I gritted my teeth. "All right," I relented. "But I don't like it, nor him." I said.  
Gibbs leaned closer. "Not much is known about Jack before he showed up in Tortuga with a mind to go after the treasure at the Isla de Muerta." He said. "That was before I met him, see, back when he was Captain of the Black Pearl."  
Will and I exchanged joint looks of surprise. "He didn't tell us about that," Will muttered. I glanced up at Jack, watching him glance down at the compass that didn't point north.  
Gibbs raised both his eyebrows, stroking the huge sideburns that took up most of his cheeks. "Aye, he plays things a bit closer to the chest now." He said, his eyes lighting up at the opportunity to tell a story. "'Twas a hard-earned lesson, that was. See, three days into the voyage, his first mate comes up to him and says there's an equal share in everything, and that includes the bearings of the place. So Jack gives up the bearings, and that night there was a mutiny. He was left on an island to die, but not before he'd gone mad with the heat." He tapped the side of his head to indicate madness. I grimaced.  
Will looked at Gibbs. "So that's the reason for all the..." he nearly fell over doing an impression of the pirate. I stifled a laugh at how comical and accurate it was.  
Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "Reason's got nothing to do with it," he said. "See, when a man is marooned, he's left with a pistol with a single shot. Now, that pistol won't be much use for hunting, nor bein' rescued. But after three weeks of starvin' to death, that pistol begins to look real friendly." He put two fingers to his head and mimed shooting himself. My eyes widened. "He escaped the island and he still has that one shot, but he won't use it. No, he's saving it for his mutinous first mate."  
A shiver ran down my spine, remembering Captain Barbossa's slimy grin. "Barbossa," I whispered. Gibbs nodded, his eyes narrowing.  
"So how did he get off the island?" Will asked.  
Gibbs leaned ever closer. "Well, ye see, he waded into the sea, and stood there for three days and three nights, until the sea creatures had been drawn to his presence. Then he lassoed himself a couple a' sea turtles and lashed 'em together to make a raft." He grinned, miming grabbing the turtles. I grimaced.  
"Where did he get the rope?" Will asked, seeing a flaw in this very fantastical story. A part of me didn't believe a word, but the rest thought that if Jack could do all the other things that the stories said he did, why not this?  
Suddenly a shadow fell over us and Will and I looked up to see Jack standing over us, his face unreadable. "Human hair," he said with a slight glint in his eye. "From my back."  
I grimaced, glaring up at the captain. He'd managed to make me feel sick twice in one day - a record only beaten by James and his proposals.  
Looking around, I could see that we had anchored just out of sight from the Black Pearl and the island was surrounded by rocks that looked like shark's teeth emerging from the water. An eerie mist hung about the water, which made me shiver and pull the coat closer around me. Will appeared at my side. Jack turned to Gibbs, his hat shading his face so I couldn't make out his eyes. "Mister Turner and I will be going ashore."  
I whipped around, suddenly angry at being left behind. "I will be going too." I said firmly. Jack shot me a glare.  
"Belay that. You're not leaving this ship."  
I gritted my teeth, walking over to stand by Will. "I will not be left here while you go and rescue my sister! You don't even know her!" I pursed my lips angrily, crossing my arms. Will put an arm around me.  
"You're not even related to her, young missy." Jack said, glowering back at me. Good God, I hated this man. Anger stirred in my chest, the heat rising inside me as Will put his arm around me protectively. For a moment, Jack's face changed to confusion, as if wondering what Will was doing if he loved Elizabeth.  
He tilted his chin down to Jack. "She'll come with us." He said, and that was the end of that. I could see that Jack didn't like it, and he only glared at me when I shot him a triumphant smile. Gibbs approached Jack.  
"Cap'n," he asked. "What're we to do if the worst should happen?"  
Jack gave Gibbs a long look. "Keep to the Code."  
The longboat was cold, wet and thoroughly uncomfortable, but I consoled myself by the fact that we would soon be with Elizabeth and on our way home once more. We would be safe again, safe from pirates and the cold and almost-permanent dampness that came with ships.  
We watched as the longboat was rowed into the cave, the lamplight reflecting off the walls. I stared over the side of the boat into the depths, a slight golden glow coming from the seabed. Will turned around, looking at Jack.  
"What code should Gibbs and the crew keep to if the...if the worst should happen?" Will asked, following my gaze as we began to row over piles and piles of treasure. I gasped as Will's hand fell on mine. He looked down at me. "It'll be all right," he whispered to me, perhaps more to himself than to me. I nodded.  
Jack turned to us again. "Pirate's Code," he said. "Any man that falls behind, gets left behind." He said, pulling on the oars. After a minute, he looked over at us and down into the sea where Will and I were both staring. "Ye know," he said. "For two kids with such a bleak outlook on pirates, you're well on yer way to becoming ones." He said. "Well," he gestured to me. "maybe not the girl, but -" He was cut off by my glare. "You broke a man out of jail, sailed with a buccaneer crew out of Tortuga," he pulled hard on the oars again. "And you're completely obsessed with treasure." He shot us both a grin.  
Will scowled. "I am not obsessed with treasure." He helped me out of the boat as I slipped on the wet rock. We made our way up the warren-like tunnels until we found a spot where we could watch the pirates. Will and Jack could both see easily through the hole, but I had to find myself a rock on which I could stand so I didn't fall through the hole. Will almost grinned.  
Looking through the hole, I nearly fell over backwards when I saw just how many pirates were there. They were all waving swords and cutlasses at Elizabeth and Barbossa, who stood on a mound of treasure on top of which a huge treasure chest lay. Elizabeth looked terrified. I had both Jack and Will grab the back of my shirt as I tried to climb down to her.  
"Don't you dare," Jack hissed. "We wait for the opportune moment." He muttered in my ear, grabbing my wrist in a grip of iron as I struggled. "Stop moving, lassie, else you'll have the whole crew on us. Then you'll be regretting not stayin' on the ship. Savvy?" He grinned sarcastically, still holding my wrist as he turned around. I pulled at his fingers, trying to get him to let go but he just held me tighter. Eventually I had to give up and turned back to Elizabeth.  
"And when is this opportune moment?" Will asked angrily, finally realising that Jack still had his hand clamped around my wrist. "Let her go." He did, and I rubbed my wrist, glaring at the pirate. "When it's of most benefit to you?"  
Jack turned to Will as I gasped. Barbossa was reaching for Elizabeth's neck. He pulled the medallion away, placing it almost gently in Elizabeth's hand as he drew a dagger. I nearly scrambled down into the throng of pirates as they began to shout for her blood to be spilled. Elizabeth's eyes were wide with fright and I could feel Will tense beside me - he didn't like this any more than I did. When exactly was the opportune moment?  
"May I ask you something?" Jack asked, holding his hands before him. I scowled. "When have I ever given you reason not to trust me?" He looked at me as I started to speak up, telling him about the time he held a pistol to my head. "Don't answer that." He looked back to Will. "Now stay here, and...please...don't do anything stupid." He looked at us both pleadingly, before moving off through the tunnels and leaving Will and I alone.  
Will's face hardened. "Come on," he gestured. "We won't be his leverage." He grabbed my arm and led me to the boats, where he grabbed an oar. My eyes widened - he wasn't going to do what I thought he was going to do...was he?  
"Will, you can't...knock him out." I sounded horrified, even to myself. I didn't even like Sparrow! "He - he -" Will glared.  
"He is not going to leave Elizabeth." He said, pulling me back down the tunnel where Jack had gone. Eventually we reached the end of the tunnel and saw Jack leaning on a rock, watching as Elizabeth held her cut hand in shock. Jack looked around and his eyes widened just before Will brought the oar around and hit Jack around the head. I watched as he crumpled and Will threw the oar down beside him. "Stay here," he said. I scowled, running after him.  
"William Turner, I am not going to wait there while you save my sister -" Will groaned, pushing me aside and into the wall.  
He glowered at me. "Please, just wait here while I get Elizabeth, and I'll be back." His eyes held a promise, and I tightened my jaw as I watched him walk away. It would be dangerous for both of us to be in sight of the pirates, so I sat against the rock and waited.  
I heard a lot of shouting coming from the pirates and managed to peek around the rocks to see Barbossa raise his hand and hit Elizabeth around the face, knocking her out and sending her tumbling down the pile of treasure. I had to stifle a scream as she fell out of sight. Barbossa brandished a sword as the pirates began to object to his leadership.  
"Let's spill all her blood...just in case." One pirate suggested, his eyes dark. Barbossa turned to see where Elizabeth had fallen, and evidently Will had rescued her because he shouted, "The medallion!" He yelled, brandishing his sword. "To the boats!"  
My eyes widened. If Will had Elizabeth, they would be at the boats - and the pirates would be going to the boats, and I would be trapped with Jack. I tried to run down the tunnel to the boats, but pirates flooded the way. I gasped, backing away as they leered at me, pointing swords and pistols and other weapons at me. I nearly tripped as I was led back up the passageway. After a moment, I tripped and fell back, landing on the rock painfully. A pair of boots appeared in my field of vision and my heart nearly stopped until I followed the leg to see Jack standing there, threatened by his own crowd of pirates.  
His eyes fell on me and he held out a hand, which I ignored and pushed myself into a standing position. The pirates before us leered at me with broken, blackened teeth which made my stomach turn.  
The pirate who had taken Elizabeth and I to the Black Pearl and shot our butler stared. "You're s'posed to be dead!"  
Jack looked down at himself, swaying as though he'd had too much rum. "Am I not?" He asked. A gun was pointed at his face and someone grabbed the back of my shirt, pressing a dagger to my neck. I tried not to breathe too hard as the pirate breathed down my neck. Jack began to mutter things under his breath, strange words that meant nothing to me. What was he trying to do?  
The skinny pirate with one eye looked up. "Parlay?" He asked with a grin. The stocky pirate behind him growled.  
"Damn to the depths to whatever muttonhead what thought of parlay." He growled, glowering at Jack. He caught sight of me and grinned. "Last time we saw you, you were sinkin' down to the depths in that godforsaken harbour." A dagger was poked into my back, causing me to inhale sharply.  
Jack grinned. "That would be the French," he said, pushing the gun down. We were pushed through the tunnels and out into the open, me struggling against my captors. Barbossa took one look at Jack and glowered.  
"How the blazes did you get off that island?" He asked angrily. I thought of the sea turtles and how unrealistic that sounded and decided not to mention it. Jack stepped forward, out of his captor's grasp and grinned.  
He leaned towards Barbossa. "Mate, when you marooned me on that godforsaken spit of land, you forgot one thing," he said. When nobody responded, he said, "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow." He said, as though it should have been obvious.  
Barbossa forced a smile. "Ah, well, we won't be forgetting that any time soon, will we?" He said. His gaze fell on me as I was forced forward, past Jack and to Barbossa. I clenched my fists. "Ah, the girl overboard," he grinned. "Gents, you remember Captain Jack Sparrow." He grinned, grabbing my shoulder and pulling me close to him. "'T'would be a shame to lose something so fine," he said, caressing my neck with a dirty hand. I tried to get away from him but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back. I met Jack's eyes with a look of panic. "Kill him." Barbossa ordered, and twenty guns and daggers were pointed at Jack's neck. I gasped, but all Jack did was lean on the oar that had knocked him out, and grin.  
"The girl's blood didn't work, did it." He said. Barbossa stopped, turned, and glared. I struggled against his grip, to no avail. Jack shot me a tired look, as if telling me to stop fighting, which only infuriated me more.  
Barbossa's grip on my wrist tightened as he considered what Jack had said. "You know who's blood we need." It wasn't a question, and Jack grinned.  
"I know who's blood you need."


End file.
